Ap World History Essay Questions 2008

Student A: This student correctly answered only 25 out of 70 multiple choice questions, incorrectly answered 30 questions, and skipped 15 questions. In addition, this student earned only 5 points on their three essays.6 Student A's Composite Score was 26, just shy of the Composite Score of 27 needed for a Final Score of '2'.

Student B: This student did a little better on the multiple choice section (30 correct, 30 incorrect, and 10 skipped) and also wrote slightly better essays. Their Composite Score was 37, squarely in the middle of the '2' range.

Students C, D, & E: I structured three hypothetical students together to highlight a few principles: All three of these students score the same Final Score ('3') and virtually identical Composite Scores (56, 57, 58). The point is that Student C is a well-rounded student, evenly able in both the multiple choice and essay sections. Student D is the student who does poorly on the multiple choice section, but is a better writer than his/her multiple choice section score would predict. Student E is a gifted multiple choice question answerer, but is weak on the writing portion of the exam. ALL THREE STUDENTS SCORE THE SAME.

Student F: This student illustrates what is necessary to earn a '5'.

Perfect: Just in case students start to complain, I remind them that someone who answered all multiple choice and essays perfectly would earn a Composite Score of 120. Getting a Final Score of '5' requires a Composite Score of 'only' 78 (65%).

For free-response questions from the 2017 exam, along with scoring information, check out the table below. Please note that these questions do not reflect the format of the 2018 exam. Similar resources for the 2018 exam will be available after the exam administration in May 2018.

Past exam questions from the May 2016 administrations and before are also available. Note that these questions do not reflect the content, scope, or design specifications of the revised AP World History Exam.

Be sure to review the Chief Reader Report. In this invaluable resource, the Chief Reader of the AP Exam compiles feedback from members of the reading leadership to describe how students performed on the FRQs, summarize typical student errors, and address specific concepts and content with which students have struggled the most that year.

Note: The scoring guidelines in this table were used to score the 2017 AP World History Exam. Updated rubrics for the 2017-18 school year are available above, under Updated Rubrics for 2018.